“It is rape but …” issues with definition and implications for the Australian legal system

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Abstract

Through the use of focus groups and interviews, this research aims to increase
understanding of the ways in which the public in Adelaide, South Australia draw on
well documented rape myths and the influence of this process on their
understandings of consent to sexual intercourse. This research explores how
individual attitudes and opinions about rape are shaped through social interaction,
including comparing the attitudes of men and women. Equal numbers of men and
women were drawn from one geographical location by snowball sampling and
vignettes were used to facilitate discussion in focus groups. Findings showed that
rape myths remain influential amongst the public and are often used to attribute
responsibility to women in acquaintance rape scenarios. However, analysis of the
public’s engagement with rape myths revealed a complex process. People did not
simply adhere to or challenge rape myths but rather these myths were engaged with
in different ways at different times and in different circumstances. Findings also
highlighted the complexity of the notion of consent and revealed contradictions in
the ways in which consent was understood. Moreover, in many cases despite being
willing to label an incident as rape, participants were still reluctant to say that they
would find the man guilty of the crime of rape. Overall, this study suggests that the
public struggle with issues concerning how rape is defined and that this has
widespread implications both for rape victims and for the Australian legal system.
Findings also suggest that radical attitude change is required before any real
improvement will be seen in rape conviction rates.